#sometimes I think about the rest of KH

[cq-studios]

20, 15 and 3 please :3

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

The fandom has helped me appreciate so many characters way more than I did initially but I’ll have to say the most drastic is Kairi. 100% Kairi.

Like when I got into KH I kinda just branded her as bland anime girl love interest with nothing going for her (which is a mindset I’ve been working hard to get out of and I’m confident I’ve made progress in) but the fandom actually helped me see there was more to her than that. And I know in a lot of situations it ends up being the opposite but learning about the evidence for and shipping Soriku (specifically Violet Howler and Tennelle’s videos) actually helped me understand and like her more. Taking her out and away from this ‘fated’ romance with Sora for a bit actually helped me see the traits that I otherwise would have dismissed. Because her not wanting Sora to leave her behind (because she’s in love with him) became her not wanting Sora to leave her behind (because she’s afraid of change, because she’s scared he’s going to drift away like Riku did, because she doesn’t want to become an afterthought) and other stuff that I could probably write more about if I wasn’t half asleep rn lol

I think part of the issue is that I have a sort of negative knee jerk to straight romantics relationships because they’re so often poorly written or I just don’t connect to them because I’m Ace/Aro and I already have a hard time connecting to any romance in general (queer stuff is easier for me to connect to because it’s representation and it feels like a victory when it happens) and that leads me to just sort of write off both characters who are involved as boring to me (for a long time I wasn’t really a huge fan of Sora either, which feels insane to say now lol).

Sora was saved a bit faster just because of his sheer amount of screen time and focus. I hope Kairi will get a chance to shine in a future game, and that opinion is mostly because the fandom helped shine a light on the things I missed that make her a character.

15. the character that always makes you smile

See it’d be cheating to say all of the NULs (like, man, I love those guys so much, but y’all know, you’re here) so I’ll switch it up today and say Xion. I love her so much. And I mean, I think literally in my last post I was gushing about her, but you know sometimes I just have to talk about Xion. I feel like I don’t talk about Xion enough. Like, she always makes me so happy (except when everything goes wrong at the end of Days then she makes me sad, so very sad but in a good way lol).

She and Roxas were my favourites before KHUX came in with the steel chair, and while I still like Roxas, Xion was the one who’s still up there with the NULs despite it all as a comfort character. Love her, wish I had smart things to say about her lol

20. your very first fandom!

Littlest Pet Shop and/or Pokémon. I honestly do not remember… I was like 3 or 4, I think.

I used to watch so many LPS YouTube skits and series and just scroll on Google for hours looking at Pokémon fanart. I avidly collected (and still collect) both things. I probably shouldn’t have been able to just have free rein watching/looking at all that at that age, but my parents didn’t really know how to parent yet (I’m their oldest kid lol).

Probably watched some Elsa-gate level stuff at some point because I remember my mom telling me not to watch any LPS skits that were made by men???

Also y’all remember Pikachu X Ketchup? I think about Pikachu X Ketchup every day…

[im-normal-about-everything]

Do you have angsty Ponyboy hcs

I always have angst :)) (warning for addiction and suicide)

-some of Pony's nightmares after his parents died where about if his brothers were driving instead. Like it was Darry and soda in the car that got hit, those ones put him out of it for the rest of the night

-there are some soc guys on his track team that are real assholes to him but he doesn't say anything cuz he doesn't want to have to rely on other people all the time

-has gotten jumped sometimes and never tells the gang unless he HAS to

-the only reason they found out about the jumping in the beging of the book was cuz he was close enough to home that they heard/saw him

-some times he thinks Darry really should just put him into a boys home

-especially after big fights with darry, he doesn't think he should be there and upset someone he cares about so much

-posy book, pony would have INSANE survivors guilt

-because it was his idea to run into the church and Johnny only followed him after he went in

-also because he was the reason Johnny killed someone, if he didn't upset bob then he and Johnny wouldn't have been targets

-a part of him kinda blames Darry because he hit him, but whoever he thinks that he feels sooooo guilty

-whenever his grades start slipping he tries his best to get them back up because he doesn't wanna disappoint Darry

-one time he and Steve got into a stupid fight and soda took Steve's side and pony was really upset because Soda was supposed to be HIS person. He felt kinda betrayed

-going along with pony having an aspirin addiction, he tried his best to hide it from his brothers/the gang

-the didn't understand that it wasn't okay for him to take a shit ton of aspirin, he didn't see it as a problem

-darry found an almost empty bottle of pills that he got not that long ago and started hiding the pills cuz he had a suspicion of what was going on

-had nightmares of Johnny and dally blaming him for their deaths

-in the original La Jolla version of the musical, Dallas jumps off a bridge after Jonny dies, imagine if pony got there just in time to see dallas' body falling/hitting the water

-in the broadway musical, Dallas gets hit by a train, kinda like the Curtis parents.

-Ponyboy hates trains.

-the keeps a lot of his parents clothes/jewelery

-the has his dad's jacket and one of his mom's necklaces

-the also has dallas' shirt and Johnny's jean jacket. The hospital took it off of Jonny and pony kept it

-he doesn't wear it, just keeps it in his room

-i think that even if pony wanted to khs after the book, he wouldn't because he couldn't let his brothers/the gang bury their youngest

So, how does everyone feel? :)

[dreamsy990]

so it all comes to this.

to say i was excited to play 3 would be wrong. actually i was sort of dreading the game. i went in with expectations for the worst and was pleasantly surprised. which is not to say that its good. but its certainly a game! that i played! and now you get my thoughts. unfortunately a lot of my thoughts about the end of the game are kind of hard to separate so. if youre wondering where my thoughts on endgame stuff is. its at the end.

(also i havent played remind so theres no remind thoughts here. its all just base game kh3)

combat (with some other gameplay notes)

so. im not a big fan of the combat. to preface, i played the rest of the series on standard, but with kh3 i was told it was easy so i did proud! and yet it was still the easiest kh game.

kh3 is the first game in the series where i feel as though 'mash x to win' is a valid criticism <- thats not entirely true at the start, but later in the game it does feel a lot like that. almost every fight is mindless because of how easy it is. you can see it in the enemy health bars, theyre absurdly large because of how easy it is to take them down. they need to have that high of health so the fight isnt over in under a minute.

i dont think the base combat is bad. unsatisfying, maybe. But not bad. except for attraction commands.

attraction commands feel like part of a pattern in kh3, where they try to recreate what made the other games so good without understanding WHY it was good. what theyre recreating ofc being reaction commands. technically its the same as some reaction commands, sure, being a giant dramatic attack, but it doesnt work because theres no situational awareness in them.

attraction commands dont feel cool because theres nothing in them that requires use of your surroundings or that is tailored to the enemies youre fighting, since theres only a couple that can be used at any time. there's nothing strategic about using them either- reaction commands normally would give you a specific advantage, or could be used to avoid attacks, only sometimes dealing damage on their own. in kh3, all attractions do is deal damage. they are impersonal and often obtrusive- if youre like me and hate attractions, youll still often accidentally use one, since theres no way to disable them.

this is more abstract than anything, but something about attacking feels unsatisfying. the combat feels like it lacks any real sense of impact or weight to me. but thats all personal and not exactly good criticism so. i digress

also the bosses in 3 suck. you know its bad when the most memorable boss fight in your game is the tutorial. most of the boss fights in this game are so unmemorable that ive literally forgotten them. except of course demon tide. i despise demon tide. it was fine in 0.2 but not here. every time you fight it feels like a missed opportunity for something cooler.

i think flowmotion is worse now. i get that it was a bit too overpowered, but with how much it was limited i ended up hardly using it. i didnt like flowmotion because of the attacks, i liked it because of the movement. so to me, it ended up being a reminder of how kh3 failed instead of a fun feature.

also i know a lot of people like being able to switch keyblades in fights, but honestly i feel like it removes an element of strategy the other games had

the ui (and other visual things)

this isnt something i talked about in my other reviews. but in kh3 i must bring it up. if you follow me you may know my hatred for kh3s ui. so im going to talk about it again! this is the abridged version though. heres my whole rant if you want my full thoughts on it. but the short version is that i dont like it. i am someone with terrible vision and i can play every single kh game without glasses because the ui is just big enough that i can read it. most of the time i can read subtitles too. but in 3? i struggle even WITH glasses to read anything. the ui is too small to make out anything almost all the time. its really only by muscle memory that im able to play. my glasses broke while i was playing, and i literally couldnt play until i got new ones because i couldnt make out a single word on screen. its bad design.

im also upset that there ui art has been replaced with renders. its just a shame honestly. i loved the art in the older games. the renders feel bland in comparison.

and thats generally my take on the look of modern kh. sure its pretty, but its bland. kh has always had a certain cartoonish vibe to it thats starting to die out, and i think the shift to unreal engine was the first marker of that change. i like the look of old kh. its not too technically impressive but its incredibly charming. kh3 is anything but. the characters feel far less expressive, the worlds are realistically rendered, it feels unfitting for a series like kh. its hard for me to find kh3 as charming as the other games. the only word i can think of to really describe it is corporate.

i dont know if this is a rare take, but i think technically impressive visuals are far worse than distinct ones. kh used to have a unique look! now it just looks like every other semi-realistically rendered rpg.

story (featuring: more gameplay notes)

my problem with kh3's story was unavoidable really. dream drop distance set this game up for failure and so im not going to complain about dream drop distance. ANOTHER TIME ill talk about dream drop distance. i dont have time to make a post that long. i do have a lot of problems with the story that werent a result of ddd being terrible so i guess ill just bring up those.

one of my biggest issues with the game is how unimportant the roxas plot is. youre led to believe the game will revolve around it but then sora does nothing to further it. at all. at the start he CONSIDERS doing something, and then hes told by ienzo "no its fine ive got it. go do something else" and its barely ever mentioned again until the end.

this relates to my overarching problem with the plot: it feels aimless. in every kh game theres a REASON theyre going on a journey. soras looking for his friends, roxas is working a 9 to 5, the wayfinders are all following each other, etc. but in kh3 sora is looking for "the power of waking". what is the power of waking? i literally have no clue. thats how poorly defined it is. its an abstract goal, its not tangible or even really achievable. its just a macguffin. when the plot suddenly decides to happen at the end the whole journey feels pointless. you could skip every disney world past twilight town and you would probably be fine. it's not a journey, you're not exploring for a purpose, you're just killing time until other people handle the plot.

i also really hate the new organization (i refuse to call them the real organization. theyll never be the org). theyre painfully boring and poorly put together. the old org had structure, they had very specific goals, every member had a purpose. you knew how they worked and why they did what they did. the new org is just completely lacking in that. calling it an 'organization' is stupid because there's nothing organized about it. and even disregarding all that, the new organization also lacks any real personality. the members feel so boring, which sucks, because almost all of them are returning characters who used to be really fun. and why are most of them even there? no one except maybe xigbar seems to actually care about their mission. the old organization had a common goal and a reason everyone was there. they were nobodies, they wanted their hearts back. there's no reason for any of the new members to stick with xehanort. and if you say "well they were norted!" i then must ask. what exactly is norting? like really. it hasnt been possession since birth by sleep. norting is whatever nomura needs it to be in the moment. its not clearly defined, its just another macguffin.

also because i dont know where to put it, the battle of 10,000 heartless is just a terrible successor to the original fight. there's no stakes, no buildup, no friends fighting by your side, no reason to care. they just throw thousands of heartless with no ai at you. literally no ai, if you stand still they wont attack you. its a drag if anything, an homage to a better game done absolutely no justice.

back to what i was saying about the roxas plot, roxas' return is just such a nothing scene. theres nothing about it thats cathartic, his lines are impersonal and bland, theres nothing 'roxas' about it. roxas' defining feature has always been how emotional he is, and there's none of that here. its nothing. and then he does nothing afterwords. he has seven whole lines in this entire game, six of them are in this scene, and the last one is an inconsequential jab at sora at the very end. and then he fades into the background.

the writing in this game in general is actually weirdly worse than normal. it feels a lot less, idk, human? the older games were weird and absurdly cheesy but this is just. strange. look at the scenes with riku and mickey in the realm of darkness and youll see what i mean.

WHILE IM ON THAT SUBJECT. RIKUS KEYBLADE BREAKING IS BULLSHIT. remind me to rant about that another time though im not gonna go on a tangent about that here

also i would give my thoughts on the ending but i literally couldnt care less about xehanort. so i dont really have any! the final boss was alright though

i have more specific thoughts, but generally, the game feels aimless and underwhelming.

positives

i love axel and kairi! theyre a fun duo and ill never shut up about their parallels so seeing them together is nice. i wish they did anything but thats BESIDES the point im being POSITIVE here

also. the music is great. i love the music sm. its nowhere near my favorite kh soundtrack, it feels a lot more grand which isnt my thing but its still some of yoko shimomuras best work. also hearts as one. its the PERFECT conclusion to roxas' theme and arc. the progression of it from melancholic (roxas) to desperate (the other promise) to triumphant (hearts as one) is just so good. i wish the rest of this scene was as good as the music so i could compliment it more wholeheartedly yknow?

its actually funny also! kh isnt the funniest series, most of the time when it IS funny its completely on accident. but kh3 is like days in the way that it just. actually has funny writing. the jokes intended DO land and its just a breath of fresh air.

oh also riku being well adjusted is the funniest possible conclusion to his character arc. 10/10 im so happy hes normal. never give that boy an emo arc again nomura

conclusion

over all, kh3 is exactly like how my teachers described me in elementary school: it has a lot of potential, but doesnt apply itself. this couldve been a decent game but it simply doesnt do most things very well. i give it a 5.2 / 10. its not an actively bad game but its a game i have trouble enjoying. sidenote im retconning my opinion on bbs to say its 4.7 / 10 because a: my opinions have changed and b: i think 3 is better but i dont want to give it a very high score.

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

🪢 KH-OC Week 2024 🪢 - Day 2 Package

Prompt: Design keyblades for Natasha and Erika.

In Day 1, you were introduced to two new teddies:

Miss Natasha Avalenka

Miss Erika Tapalados

Who are special guests for KH-OC Week 2024 under Dinh-Yu.

Here are their keyblades if they were to traverse / reside in the Kingdom Hearts realm.

Natasha: Aura of Enigma

The ? graphics are inspired by how Sora or any other KH player gets confused by an enemy. When she swings, ?s will come off the keyblade. The N in the background does not stand for Neo-Cortex, it stands for Natasha, though she seems to adopt a similar if not identical style/taste, in terms of science slash robotics/mechanics, or even archaeology. Hence some nicely shaped bones for the outer handle, with an 'Alice In Wonderland'/'Dr. Seuss' bush over the top. I believe in Kingdom Hearts, she'd fit in to being a researcher or may teeter on the edge of darkness at times.

The main reason Natasha gets this keyblade is because despite me being her creator (obviously), I don't even know the true facets of her personality. Like she is so hard to flesh out, hence she's an 'Enigma' waiting to be discovered, if anyone can work it out. That's what the E at the end of the keyblade stands for... Unless she had dealings with Ephemer or Eraqus that I know nothing about...?

---

Erika: Flower Garden

Erika would be teaming up with the guardians of light, and may even get involved in the company/surroundings of her sister. Erika would get Riku to 'like' her / get used to her quicker than both Selvian and Sierra combined. Consuls (ESFJs) have a knack for that.

With Erika's design, she just screams flowers and pretty petals, and other pretty things as well. In a sense she's like Kairi, but only in tastes. She's not as rambunctious as Kairi. Just for comparison, think of Erika as a Princess Peach type; only not getting kidnapped.

I think of Erika as a 'delicate flower', whereas Kairi is a 'Wild Flower'.

Kairi likes a sharp pink, Erika likes pastel pink and pastel green as a secondary.

---

As Day 2 here is on the topic of more/additional keyblades:

As I was setting up some things for this event, I was psychically gifted a keyblade for my inventory by Dinh-Yu and his crowd!

---

Day 2 edit: Dinh-Yu subsequently caught me out for not putting keychains on the back of the handles. I always forget those 🥲

'Aura of Enigma' would have a bright red N OR a ? of some sort.

Not sure about Erika's.

'Warioware Inc.' would have a garlic OR a mini console thing like what they use in Game&Wario.

---

Subsequent Day 2 edit: Am doing the week mostly blind due to Dinh-Yu's challenge, advice and instructions, but when scrolling through ppl's work, I saw a prompt.

I realise I have hilariously coincidentally addressed Natasha's ABSENCE OF past or at least knowledge of it 😁

So here's something else about the past. Where does Selvian come from? IRL, I have had what happened to be my favourite coloured trddy bear for a few years, until it was no longer useable for some reason. The ears were blue, but the fur was rainbow. Since the base colour was green, that's the digital skin colour because I'd spend forever with rainbow. Selvian is the unaltered version of how the teddy looks like IRL, without clothes obvs, and also therefore consequentially bald. The rest are altered to give them hair and different personalities.

The bear may have been tossed in the trash, but the spirit lived on, for that many years, and has transformed into an interdimensional entity/carryable character in the name of Selvian who appears to be the leader of everything but has a specific bridge to Kingdom Hearts. And oop! I was also calling him Selviana as a child, hence I've now taken the last A off.

---

Sierra and Erika being sisters is a fairly new concept after Erika was rolled in for Dinh-Yu. May try to address tidbits of the sisters (or just Sierra because she's KH) in future days IF I can flesh them out more. These teddies sometimes start their jobs before we even get to know them 😅

Sierra was always intended to have a sister, we just didn't know who it was.

[kosmic-arts]

thinking about totk and how the plot sucked.... its the same shit where i feel depressed with kh because it has so much potential but botches it entirely at every turn. totk was such a disappointment plotwise. like, i enjoyed playing it a lot, but i couldn't shake this ever present feeling of bitterness every time anything plot related happened. they completely retcon any and all worldbuilding established in the first game, and replace it all with zonai shit that we're all just supposed to buy was always there. they are so underdeveloped, its mindboggling. i really do wish it had been link going back into the past rather than zelda. as link i feel like im doing chores the whole game while zelda is out there experiencing the actual plot and getting to make difficult choices. like?? i thought i was supposed to be playing the main character... i love zelda, just not botw/totk zelda. she sucks!! sorry 😬 her arc is cool and interesting, but i ultimately don't care because its all told in disjointed flashbacks where most of the actual character development happens without us seeing. zelda goes from hating link and being a petulant child, to being cool with him and chill. we never get to spend any substantial time with her, so all we get is the characters and the rest of the narrative constantly trying to convince you that zelda is so nice and perfect and youve gotta save her right?? and link totally cares about her even though he looks bored as hell 24/7 and seems only invested in this because its his job and hes gotta be home by 5. skyward sword was smart enough to give us like, an hour with zelda to establish link's friendship with her and just that alone does wonders. who doesn't love skyward sword zelda!! i was invested from start to finish trying to reunite with her. also do not talk me about the occasional silly dialogue options link has, or him clenching his fists sometime.. thats not good enough. i honestly dont like botw/totk link either; hes barebones asf. wind waker link is 1000x more alive than botw link; ocarina of time link too and all he does is scream, and TP link!! he ACTS impulsively and with rage when the kids from his village are taken- botw link doesnt have shit on any of his predecessors sorry!! ok. i got a little off topic. basically the totk plot had the minimal possible effort put into it, and it sucks and i hate it. even though the story in botw was very lightweight and straightforward, it was infinitely more riveting than totk, and for that reason i still think about and remember botw more fondly.

[braveheartstoryteller]

The Messiness of KH3

"Sora, you know better than anyone. It only takes a moment to connect with your mates... With your hearties." There is always enough time, that is what Sora learned from his adventure in the Caribbean. Enough time to connect with others, even if it is just a day. Out of all the Disney stories in KH3 this one seems to mirror the end of Sora's story in the game the most.

Because of this, KH3 appears to be an antithesis to the rest of the series. Instead of focusing on connection and friendship, it emphasizes the opposite. It concentrates on everything that can tear connections and friendships apart.

It's not that the series hasn't looked at these ideas before. One of Birth by Sleep's core ideas is about that very thing, as evil tries to break apart the Wayfinder trio. However this time, it embraces it. Or rather, Sora embraces it. He decides that saving Kairi is worth it, even if he is separated by everyone he loves or cares about. He wants that one day more, like Will and Elizabeth, even if it is a long time before he ever spends another day with them. It was time for new adventures, new worlds, new seas to explore. In one of the loading screens Sora says this: "Worlds and hearts may be taken, connections may be severed. But the path before you always leads to the place you belong."

He doesn't think twice, just accepts. It feels out of place in a series that has traditionally embraced connections and friendship. Perhaps that is why the story always messed with me. I know disconnection. I know what it means to burn bridges. Yet this is what Sora embraces. In one of my favorite scenes in the game, Young Xehanort says this to Sora: "But if the light of friendship is a form of power...the darkness of being alone is a power...even greater." This stops Sora in his tracks. Not knowing what to think or say, it takes Woody to break him out of it. Spurred by Woody's words he tells Young Xehanort: "That's the heart's true nature– to never, ever let go." In other words: connection. Yet what happens at the end? Sora embraces the possibility of severed connections. Feeling that one day he'll still make it home. We all have our paths to walk. I've had mine. Sometimes we have to follow the path our heart knows. But I also know this type of path is borne out of brokenness. It's not supposed to be. Sora says it himself. If actions speak louder than words, then just what path has Sora chosen? As I said in a prior post, we don't know. The story isn't clear. But in the end this is how I see the ending of KH3. I find it resonating, but also heartbreaking. I know it will stay with me a long time to come. I can't say that with any of the other endings in KH, despite it being, well, messy. Yet, messiness can be beautiful. You see it in the artist's paint brush as a stray stroke adds intricacy, in a singer's voice as it breaks with emotion, and in the faltering words of a writer as she tries to speak clearly but also with honesty. It is in the messiness that one finds life. Because to quote a song it is "where the light shines through."* So in that, I love it. *Song by Switchfoot by the same name.

[hungarianmudkip69]

*sets out a tea service* So about your CG necromancer that you'd like to play, but the campaigns keep falling through before you can play them?

SO. I once had this idea. What if I made a chaotic good necromancer, whose culture has positive associations with necromancy. And I ended up making Elrena. (Yes, I took the name from Kingdom Hearts, but just because I liked it, she's not based off the KH character.)

What I ended up coming up with, is that she's from a small village in a very inhospitable area, prone to freezing cold and fierce storms. It would be completely inhospitable if not for their magic, an unusual branch of necromancy more benign than evil. Her people believe that when one of them dies, their soul cannot rest without knowing their body has been raised to continue protecting their loved ones, and raise the bodies of their dead to do necessary tasks when it is too dangerous for the living to step outside.

They worship Kelemvor, god of death, who cares for the souls of their protectors; Mystra, goddess of magic, who gave them the magic that protects them; and Ilmater, god of endurance and perseverance, who reminds them that they must help each other.

Not all members of the village are necromancers, but Elrena, a protector aasimar, showed the signs of becoming a necromancer very young, and became especially close with her fellow necromancers. Traditionally, when a young necromancer reaches the age of twenty, she goes out on a journey to experience the world, help others, and hone her power in ways she cannot at home.

In all campaigns, she has just left on this journey, and doesn't have any idea how the wider world views necromancy. She believes very firmly in her people's beliefs, and does not realize that they aren't universal and that most people have never heard of her more benign branch of necromancy. She carries a small bag containing bones from a few ancient community members whose bodies no longer can physically serve the village, but continue to protect it by guiding the newest generation.

In the last campaign she was going to be in, which unfortunately fell through, the DM actually was modifying a class from the Valda's Spire of Secrets Kickstarter for me, the Necromancer. It used to be on 5e.tools, but looks like it's not anymore? And unfortunately, I don't remember much of what it was like. But here's an example of an ability he made for me:

Starter Feat: Soothing Necromancy: Your necromantic magic differs from the typical soul binding magics of the weave, into a more soothing melody of temporary transition. Some of the spirits and souls of the departed wish to aid you due to your kind nature. Spirits linger around your person, and sometimes whisper secrets to you or your allies. You learn the message cantrip if you don't already know it, and require no components to cast it. When you cast the spell, the messages are delivered by one of your whispering spirits rather than you or the target's voice. Additionally you learn Protection from Good and Evil spell. You can cast the spells without expending a spell slot. Once you cast the spells in this way, you can't cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest. However, some spirits are intentionally malicious even after their death, and may alert enemies to your presence. You take minus d4 to stealth checks. Your spellcasting ability for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice when you gain this Starter Gift).

I think she's really neat and I put a lot into building her. But unfortunately I've never been able to use her for more than a few sessions. The DM for the game I originally made her for tried to do this thing where actually necromancy isn't what she thought and it tortures the souls that I was really uncomfortable with a few sessions in, and then the game fell apart when someone moved away and the pandemic started a bit after... The DM for the other game was so into the concept and helping work with me on it, I really wish that game had kept going. It just never had a second session due to scheduling conflicts.

[lennsart]

KHOC Week Day 4 5 : Alternative Universes

@khoc-week

Today is a day that is a little scary to me, since I want to share some of my writing for the first time !

I'm constantly writing about KH, and my current obsession has been to imagine an highschool AU with the KH kids. I know, taking away the magic isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I was inspired !

The main characters of this fic would be Xail and Vanitas, who would meet... In a closet. Thus, I eloquently call it "The closet AU"

The first paragraphs are under the cut ! It's not too long, less than 1000 words.

Sometimes, Xail was able to function with very little sleep. Her insomnias were tough, and she was used to short nights. 

But today wasn't one of these days.

She fought to stay awake for the whole hour before lunch, too focused on keeping her eyes open to listen to the teacher. 

And she knew for a fact it wouldn't do any good long term.

So she grabbed a sandwich at the cafeteria and decided to find a hiding spot to sleep during the break. If she could only get one hour, it would probably get her back on track, at least for the rest of the day.

She had noticed one of the stairs had a space below it, and though it was closed by a door, it was worth trying. Thankfully the corridor around was empty, probably because everyone was eating.

But no one waited for Xail during breaks anyway.

...

Pushing the door, she realized it was unlocked. If that wasn't a sign that it was the perfect spot, she didn't know what would be !

She entered, closed the door and enjoyed the dark for a minute. 

Just a minute, because before she knew it, she was fast and sound asleep.

It really was the perfect spot.

______________________________________________________________

Vanitas Hated people, with a capital H. If school had taught him one thing, it was that everyone had their own way of being insufferable. He'd rather spend his whole time alone, even though he didn't particularly find his own company pleasant either.

But everything was better than a conversation with people who forced smiles to conceal how much they thought he was a freak.

Thus, like a freak, he hid in a hole.

Well, not a real hole. More like an abandoned closet. 

The thing was out of use and sealed off, but nothing that his studded boots hadn't been able to open.

And as long as he was careful to close after he left, no one would know better.

That was what he thought.

But two days ago, he found his closet open. It was empty, so he thought nothing of it. Well, that wasn't true ; he did think something, and it was : "fucking wind".

Today, though, he opened the door, and someone was there.

" - What the hell ?! "

It got out before he could think of anything else.

There was a girl. In his hiding spot.

And she was sleeping.

Well, she had been.

" - Dude, " she just said, hiding her eyes from the light.

Vanitas felt inexplicable shame, realizing someone found this closet. And he hated that.

" - Get the fuck out ! " He grunted, teeth gritted. " That's my spot ! "

The girl sighed.

" - Yeah, well that was also mine.

  - Since when ?? "

He had spent all his breaks there since the year before, so obviously this girl was a liar.

" - Since last week, actually. "

...But he hadn't been in school last week.

Of course. Of fucking course the week where he wasn't here, someone discovered his spot.

Somewhere deep down, he knew his anger was unexplained, and that it was silly to get worked up for a closet.

But it had been his private hidden spot for a year now.

Who was this girl to claim it as her own ? 

" - Look, I've been spending my time here since a whole fucking year now, and it's only for one reason : being alone. So if you don't get out of here, I'll make you. "

She looked pretty unimpressed, which was infuriating. Half the school was scared of him. Why would this newbie be so indifferent ? 

" - Ok, " she started, " I don't know why you hide here, but I slept like 4 hours in two nights, and I'm hanging on by a very thin thread right now. I'm not even sure I could walk away if I wanted to. You can do whatever you want, I'm about to pass out anyway, so please, close the goddamn door. "

At this moment, he could have grabbed her and threatened her. He meant it when he said he could've made her leave ; he fought bigger people than her, and she didn't even look that heavy.

But something in the fact that her bravery was only sleep deprivation had maybe, just a tad, made this girl's presence more bearable. And it was maybe, just possibly, because it made him think about himself.

He closed the door, furious that he was listening to her.

" - You rock, " she declared, and he heard her turn over. 

He would sulk for way longer than he'd ever want to admit, conflicted about the fact that it was nice to hear.

That's it for now ! I just wanted to show their personality and the context, but it's still a draft. And since I drew a little something for this AU just yesterday, I decided to add it as well :

...Where Xail ends up by buying Vanitas' friendship with chocolate !

That's it for today, and probably the rest of the week ! If I post anything else for this year it'll probably be late. So I'll only watch the other posts and wish you all a nice end of the week !

[greetings-inferiors]

Today I fought Xion’s data battle in remind and

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

It goes SO HARD

Like I love Xion but Jesus Christ she might have the best data fight, not only is she just FUCKING BADASS with how she zooms around and shoots pillars at you like it’s a fucking dragon ball fight, but her music is also just really fucking good? Like 100% better than the original, which was already one of the series’ best themes.

And

HER LIGHT PILLARS DECREASE YOUR MAX HEALTH????????????

I kind of wish Xehanort couldn’t do this because I think it would be way cooler if it was unique to Xion (Yozora can keep his, I’ll talk about him later). Overall a fucking fantastic fight, my only wish was that for her dm she turned into a massive mech like in days but instead of being an Ursula ass boss actually be a massive giant fight with mobility and you have to climb her and stuff it’d be sick. Seriously imagine the floor breaks away to reveal the sky of twilight town and she’s flying around as a massive mech as you dodge and try to fight her it’d be sick.

Anyway 10/10 boss fight, only usurped by Yozora, who HOLY SHIT HE’S SO FUCKING GOOD. I HAVEN’T EVEN BEATEN HIM YET. BUT I SPENT ALL DAY FIGHTING HIM AND WANT MORE.

I think this is the closest kingdom hearts has gotten to a perfect fight. My literal only problem with it is that his life/item steal can seem random (sometimes I stop it in one hit and sometimes he takes my entire stock of potions, no inbetween), and I can’t figure out how to escape his dm’s final hit. But those both seem like skill issues, like there’s a way to counter them and i’m just missing it. Oh also the robot attack is lame, it’s a cool reference but the only reason I get hit by it is it’s so easy and long my eyes glaze over and whoops I got hit.

But the rest of the fight is fucking perfection. Every move of his is brutal and fair. Everything can be dodged or blocked, there’s just a tight window, and the way they do his openings are so sick. Basically he knows when he’s open for attack, so before “finishing” his combo he’ll jump back and say “nope” or “no chance” and get out of danger. So if you can predict when he’ll feint and end his combo and chase after him you can get massive damage in, but if you preemptively block you are massively punished. It really feels like an all out brawl with a fighter just as skilled as Sora.

Anyway I’ll try again tomorrow, I got him to his last healthbar on one of my attempts, I just run out of steam and had no recharge and no hi-potions left. I’ve sort of figured out a semi consistent method to deal with the item steal attack, make sure you’re in ultimate form and hit him just as he turns vulnerable but before he sucks your items, but sometimes he still just ignores you and hits you anyway. Firaga spam sometimes works but it seems less consistent. I still haven’t figured out his dm yet, if anyone has any advice for those moves that’d be appreciated but part of me wants to beat the fight on my own. Truth be told it is on standard, so maybe when I eventually replay kh3 I’ll do all of remind in critical. Who knows. (I did do my initial playthrough of kh3 on critical but just wanted to get through remind so replayed it on standard, and I just now returned to it since if i’m not gonna finish the kh marathon may as well play the only story content I haven’t experienced.)

[chryzuree]

I’M IN SUCH A CHRYZUREJACKS MOOD RN… anything you have to share abt them at this time 🤲🤲🤲

GOD, I FEEL SO FERAL ABT THEM RN…. you always know precisely my mood (is always explicitly posting abt them…)

but like…. chryzurejacks is jst like chrysi has someone made for her by the universe itself and if she also had someone who she made for herself and they worshipped her. then it’s worship from knowing everything about her to worship from knowing nothing about her. then, on top of that, it’s like ohhhh, azure’s her soul. jacks is her heart. she’s their breath. fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lives interwoven in the stars by pure stubbornness because who else can understand each other but them!!! and their cringefail pathetic wet lap dogcat of a soulmate………

umm also also also, i’ve mentioned this, but azure is also immune to jacks’s kiss <3 makes me think of that one friends episode where one of the characters is like “WHERE IS MY NEW YEAR’S KISS!!!! I WANT TO BE KISSED!!!!!!” and then one of the other guys kisses him.. jacks wants to be kissed (by chrysi), but he’s being so fucking annoying that azure kisses him for her. jacks stands there in a daze like “?!!!???????!!!!!!” and then, later, he’s mad because azure’s a better kisser than him.

i like imagining them all curled up in the same bed together, jst basking in the morning sunlight coming in from the blinds :)) literally i have nothing else to add, jst azure pressed to chrysi’s side and jacks resting his head on her chest and chrysi stroking jacks’s head while leaning into azure…. it’s something i think abt to calm myself down!!

jackszure hangout sessions whenever chrysi’s off doing something!!! it’s always azure working on a paper or writing something else while jacks jst kinda sighs sadly like a bereft dog, then looks at azure from the corner of his eye. azure hears him do that, like, seven times before he sighs and puts down his work. do you want to play checkers? yeah, checkers?? yes, do you want to set up the board?? good boy!!! (jacks is like. not appreciating that you’re talking to me like a dog, but also, YEAH, i WOULD like to play checkers 🥺)

whenever they’re at a masquerade ball, azure and jacks always keep trying to get the most dances w chrysi. near the beginning of their relationship, anyway!! then it turns into them switching off who chrysi’s dancing w every other song. romance… ((also, jacks specifically designs matching outfits for all three of them 🥰🥰🥰))

GOD, like two days ago, i was thinking abt chrysijacks arguing while azure endured it—up until he snaps, and goes, “JACKS. stop pissing off my wife!!! CHRYSI, stop yelling at your husband!!!!” both of them immediately shut up. anyway, chrysi was winning. jsyk.

jackszure companionship is also sosososo important to me??? like jacks nor azure strike me as the type of ppl to hug, but ((and specifically i’m thinking of the kh au, though this happens in a couple others)) when azure comes back from being cursed and/or possessed, jacks kinda cautiously lingers around him until azure sighs and gives him a quick hug. nobody saw anything. but also jacks is glad azure’s okay, and azure’s glad that jacks didn’t blow anything up while he was gone. now, if you’ll excuse him. he needs to go kiss their wife.

LOVEEEEE the aus where they’ve all been married for years, but since jacks is a fate and chrysi’s a half-star and azure’s undead, they all will wander sometimes?? and then when they’re reunited, they fall back into their patterns. don’t let jacks cook, don’t let azure make tea, don’t let chrysi rearrange the kitchen every week…. THIS ALSO IN A SITUATION WHERE JACKS IS A PLANT ON AN OPPOSING SIDE AND THEY GET CAUGHT AND HE BREAKS COVER TO HELP THEM??????)))) AUGHHHHHHH.

oh oh oh, in the l&c universe, after azure gets possessed, it’s soooo important to notice that while chrysi is how azure drags himself to reality, he’s able to actively try and get help via communicating with jacks… he sent that invitation to the gala to jacks on purpose! he knew jacks would get chrysi and they’d both try to help him! he knows! he knows that both of them would save him!!!!!

[cq-studios]

(For this)

6. favourite dream drop distance world

See you caught me at a perfect time for this one. I’m actually playing through Dream Drop Distance right now so everything up to Country of Musketeers is fresh in my mind.

With that being said though, would it be a cop out for me to say Traverse Town? I just love the vibes (and the music) of that place in general and then they add in the TWEWY gang? Man. Plus the reality shift there is just throwing things and I live for that lol

If I have to choose a Disney world tho, I think I’d choose Fantasia. The fact that Sora and Riku sides are both completely different and nice looking and the fact that little chimes play with the music when you swing your keyblade is so fun. Although this opinion might change once I actually play through it lol

13. favourite organization 13 member

Oh no, I have to choose one? Uhhhhhhhh… I’m just gonna exclude anyone who was alive during KHUX for fairness sake (Luxu, Marluxia, and Larxene), because the reason I love them so much is for reasons outside of the Organization, and say Xion.

I love Xion so much. Like she’s 100% my favourite character if you exclude the KHUX cast (although she’d still be above all the Foretellers except Luxu). Like all coherent thoughts go away when I try and talk about her. Unless someone brings a specific scene up it’s just all screaming, crying, and “I love her so much”s.

I just haven’t hyperfixated on her the same way I have about the NULs so I can’t say anything super educated about her lol

36. favourite song

I don’t know if this is referring to the Utada songs or the whole soundtrack, so I’ll just answer both

Out of Utada’s songs I’d say my favourite is Face my Fears. (Though disclaimer, I’ve never actually heard Don’t Think Twice with lyrics)

And out of the whole soundtrack I’m gonna have to say Vector to the Heavens. Like god, what a theme. It actually makes me tear up when I hear it

[h-worksrambles]

Should the KH series have left its old ideas in the past once and for all if it had nothing new to do with them?

Well, it’s complicated. If you think there is more potential to explore characters and the like, then bringing old stuff back can certainly work. What I’m bothered by in Kingdom Hearts is that it felt the need to bring everyone back for 3. Regardless of whether it had anything for any of them to do actually do. There wasn’t much substance behind the sheer ‘everyone is here’ spectacle. Sometimes it’s ok to let a good thing rest. I don’t think it was a necessary to have a ‘true Organization XIII’, for instance. Most of those characters served their purpose in Kingdom Hearts 2 and didn’t really need expansion. Bringing them back didn’t serve to flesh these characters out. It cheapened them. Vanitas has been retconned into a whole new character, and now the mobile games are frantically back-filling in more backstory for the likes of Larxene, Marluxia and I’m guessing Luxord eventually (given Remind’s secret ending) to justify keeping these characters around.

That being said, this does tie into one of the reasons I’m optimistic about the Lost Masters arc. Because it seems to bringing interesting new characters, while having a setup (searching for Sora) that gives the current cast stuff to do. I don’t think it’s perfect mind. Dark Road has me a little worried that the series just won’t able to let go of Xehanort at this point (please let Dark Road be his last appearance, I think we’re well and truly done with this character). And I don’t think it was a good idea to spend so much of 3 setting up the new arc (as opposed to, well, concluding that current arc in a satisfying way). But at least this is fresh story ground for the series, and I think after Dream Drop Distance and 3, I do want to see something new.

Basically, Kingdom Hearts needs to know when to occasionally let something bow out gracefully, rather than dragging back every character and concept for a second go-round at the drop of a hat. Not everything needs to be backfilled with pages and pages of new backstory. Not every villain needs to be brought back for a big punch up. Otherwise you end up overcrowding your story with people who don’t need to be there, or retconning/backfilling a character/concept so much that you lose it’s original intent. I hope this answered your question.

[glamgoblin]

Watch and Rewatch List

Tagged by @notme-rainbowfart Ty for the tag!!

Watchlist

Our Dating Sim - This show is so good! It has everything. Old friends? Check! Enemies to lovers? Check! Seemingly unrequited love that was actually requited the characters were just dumb? Check! Art and video game nerds? Check! A must watch so far imo

Love in the Air - I know, I KNOW I am late to this one! I’m ashamed of me too. But I will admit, y’all were right this show is amazing and I love it and it’s perfect and the characters are amazing. I haven’t gotten to PrapaiSky yet but Phayu, my beloved (ty Moon for watching this one with me)

Chains of Heart - Mysteriously dead not dead ex boyfriends?? Running away from your life and moving to an entirely new country, honestly mood

Love Syndrome - The things I will do for Frank… but also the things Frank will do. But seriously I can only find one episode of this so far, does anyone know where a bitch can find the rest of the episodes? (I think they aren’t working together so I am forever mourning frankdrake)

Honorable shoutouts to classics and non bls I am watching: Bleuming, Goblin, UMG, the last of us, and those random people with cleaning tips on youtube

Rewatches

Not Me - Are we even surprised? But it’s been about a year since it finished and I miss it. Plus I wanted to write some more fics. But can anyone anyone please tell me how on earth this is straight

Big Dragon - This is my comfort watch and I love them so so much.

Looking forward to

Only Friends - this is a toxic gays only event go home (alternately: *chanting* khaofirst khaofirst khaofirst khaofirst kh-)

Make a Wish - Okay I love OhmFluke and I am gutted to see them separated but it’s probably good for them to act with other people. Mix the couples up!! I’m most excited for the supernatural elements of this one

Unintentional Love Story - This one has such a strange plot that I’m intrigued. Plus the miscommunication and the fact that it started out with lying Chefs! Kiss! Sometimes a you need to cry over a show you know?

I’m not sure who to tag since I’ve seen a lot of people do this lately and idk who’s already been tagged, so if you see this and want to do it (or do it again/updated) consider yourself tagged by me 😀

[atpverse]

All the Pieces Coming Soon

Hello! We've got exactly a week (a little less then because I won't be sending the email out this late hopefully) until the first few chapters of AtP go out! February 2nd is GO TIME! Are you excited? I'm excited!

For those of you who are already on the emailing list, this is effectively a copy/pasta of the email, but this one has images of the moodboards I made if you want to see those!

Info under the cut :)

AtPverse is effectively 4 novel-length stories that ran from Feb 23, 2011 to Sep 5, 2015. Thank you, fanfiction for storing that information because I never would have remembered it otherwise.

"All the Pieces Lie Where They Fell" was my KH3 what-if story. I wanted to speculate on how Sora, Riku, and Kairi would restore the hearts of people like Namine, Roxas, and Xion. It should be noted that I was not about to leave Kairi behind again. Also, y'all need to thank Namine for existing because without her voice I doubted I would have gotten as far as I did.

It's a story about what it means to be a person. About the power of friendship. About learning to love yourself and accept yourself. It's about trusting yourself and your friends and not giving into doubt.

"Betwixt and Between" follows AtP and is effectively a story about finding out what to do now that you're in your late teens and you've spent the last several years saving the worlds over and over and over again and what is rest, really? (Of course, there's also an enemy looming in the shadows, but still.)

After BB, we'll be taking a break from post-KH2 stuff and double back to stuff more in line with the timeline of Birth By Sleep, ten years before the start of KH1. Except the focus is the Final Fantasy characters. Specifically FInal Fantasy VII and VIII characters. Thank Rinoa and my love of Crisis Core. "What's All Gone on Before" is a prequel but it brings us back up to where BB left off by the time it's over.

It's a story about finding yourself after losing everything. A story about finding your people and sticking with them no matter what. It's about dealing with grief. It's about searching for hope and forging your own way.

"Remnants" is the culmination of all of those. It is about finding your inner strength. About letting go of a past you don't need anymore. About the terrible decisions that have to get made sometimes - especially in war.

I'll give more details on the ones after AtP later, this was basically an overview and a bit of a thematic pitch.

There's no super huge content warnings. Yes, there is major character death. Canon-typical violence that hedges a bit darker than the usual for KH but even that can get pretty dark if you stop to think about it. There are also references to abuse because Namine did not come out of Castle Oblivion okay.

Full content warnings, including spoilery ones, can be read at the dreamwidth: https://atpverse.dreamwidth.org/338.html

Um, and with that, I think I'll leave off here!

~Magik 💜

[roseprincessarts]

I Beated Kingdom Hearts Final Mix... My Thoughts...

Well, y'all Kingdom Hearts fans (for those KH fans that is), I recently finished Kingdom Hearts Final Mix just last month I believe. I know it's late, but I wanted to tell you my experience of this game and how I felt about it.

Here are my thoughts...

SPOILER ALERT for those who hadn't played either the original Kingdom Hearts, or Kingdom Hearts Final Mix! If you don't want spoilers, I suggest reading this after playing Kingdom Hearts and experiencing it for yourself as I did (even though sometimes i was a bit clueless, but managed to do well!). Be alert on that, or read this at your own risk. For those who DID play Kingdom Hearts, both original and Final Mix, enjoy this journal piece as I explained how my experience went!

I love the first game! The CGI cutscenes are so pretty, and absolutely the graphics are fantastic! Although the same as the original, even though we never had the original for the PS2. The controls were a pain to deal with, but I a

My favorite worlds are Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Monstro (not a world, but one of my favorites), 100 Acre Wood and Hollow Bastion. Olympus Coliseum and Hollow Bastion is probably my top favorite worlds! To be honest, the Coliseum tournaments got harder by the time I was finished with other worlds, and I couldn't help but fear of losing ^^;. Hades Cup is probably the one hard tournament I didn't even THINK I would win, ha ha ha ha ^^;. Cloud battle is probably one of my favorite battle, even though it's hard. I did most of the solo and time trial (except the Hades Cup, since I feared of losing lol). Hollow Bastion, however, is gorgeous :3. Both the music themes are incredible and became my favorite ^^, except somethings. The room levels, Maleficent boss fights and Riku/Ansem battle (which this battle I struggled with). Monstro I liked, because the music and the storyline became my favorite as well. Along with Deep Jungle, the music became my favorite with him. 100 Acre Wood I enjoyed, some mini games I did enjoy, others had me frustrated lol. Hadn't watched Winnie The Pooh for quite a bit, and (don't judge me plz lol) I am kinda interested into watching those ^^. If there were books of them (if they still existed or something like that), I would read them ^^;. Wonderland is my favorite because of how it looks (well one of them that are okay), and depicting the first world story, how they all started to travel to many worlds for the first time. Traverse Town is my favorite. I really like how they did the settings and all (and had Final Fantasy characters, and Destiny Islands had some too lol)

Worlds that are okay are Deep Jungle, Agrabah, Halloween Town, and the End of the World. Deep Jungle's soundtracks are unique, and creates more fitting of a jungle atmosphere. As for Deep Jungle, vines are the ones I STRUGGLED for days. And, gosh darn, I didn't know there was a rope I can pull up to another vines area that can get me into the tree area. Stupid me had actually done the vines for nothing lol. Since I love Tim Burton (actually a fan of him), Halloween Town is the world I like, except it's graphics are dark that I can't see anything (except for one area to where I can fight Oogie Boogie lol). However though, it can eventually get into my favorites list when I play more Kingdom Hearts games throughout the future ^^. Agrabah.... Well.... It's okay. I actually never liked how it turned out. Especially how it's set up that are a 50/50 for me. But I managed to get through it. End of the World is the same as well. I wanted to get Meteor Strike staff, but that didn't happen. At least I got through the whole world.

Worlds I didn't like was Atlantica and Neverland. The battle platform I didn't really like. And one thing I did like is I didn't know Ariel can actually fight ^^. That is one thing Iiked, but the rest of the world... I think not. The boss Ursula I struggled :/. Not a fan of that boss. Neverland is the same. Not a fan of how it's settled up, and the battles gotten harder (well, obviously). And that's where the optional boss got me boiling lol.

And let's not forget Destiny Islands. It's design and music is pretty:3.

I did manage to do optional bosses as I progressed the game. Kurt Zisa and Ice Titan is probably the hardest I did. I sometimes didn't like how it went, but at least I managed to try to get them done. Phantom is, my lord, the WORST. I didn't like how it went at the worst bosses, and I WAS about to give up, but I manage to do it. The one I was really looking to fight Sephiroth at the Coliseum. He was HARD 0_0. He became one of my favorite Final Fantasy villains that couldn't stop thinking about lol. It took me quite a bit to beat him, until I finally won. The cutscene with Cloud and Sephiroth was pretty cool :).

One boss I did forget to do is the Unknown, but you know what, that's fine. I don't really have to get everything, or 100% the Story So Far. It's not really my game, it's actually my brother's. He had KH3 for an Xbox, so I might either get it for the PS5 digitally or Steam (maybe get the 1.5, II.5, and II.8 for Steam. Maybe, idk.). KH4 is coming out next year or so (from what I heard).

And most of all, the story is beautiful ;3. I was in shock when Maleficent (and Ansem) manipulating Riku into betraying his friendship with Sora and to get rid of him in order for Maleficent and Ansem to bring darkenss into the world. Kairi protecting Sora from the heartless and bringing him back into his own self is gorgeous, indeed for what I see. However, I was going to see how they will end up being, which I'm not gonna tell until I understand their stories and play every one of the Kingdom Hearts games. I really love the ending. It's just majestic 🥰. The whole story is what I like most because you wanted to fill your heart with friendship and wanting to protect others instead of hate and cruelty. ❤️

One one of the most shocking things is I didn't know they actually added Final Fantasy characters into the game franchises. Isn't that pretty cool though? The song Simple and Clean is so pretty as well ^^

I just started Re:chain of Memories after beating KH: FM. To be honest... I didn't like how the battle looks like, and I Sorry if it's a late thing to get this journal done, I was super busy, and tired lol. I couldn't wait until what happens next in this game after the first.

Anyways, I am hoping to beat Re:chain of Memories when I had a knack for it to actually do well instead of stressing myself out too much.

Welp, have a good night!

[braveheartstoryteller]

Sometimes KH3 still manages to surprise me. Then, this game has both layers to it and lots of things to do. So today I got the bistro up to the five star rating. This is a part of the game that is easily skipped and honestly doesn't really jive with the rest of the game, mechanically wise. But I digress here. What I want to say is that the cutscene that triggers after getting those five stars, just about melted my heart into a giant puddle. Oh my goodness, some of the dialog, and Sora's interactions with Remy... And how many people even get to see this cutscene?

Goodness, it actually talks about what I tend to think KH is really all about: connection. It's there, right on the nose. But it is all done, with...I guess the whole *chef's kiss* fits rather well here. *happy sigh* It was just so lovely that I had to restart the save a few times to see it again, and take some screen shots because finding that scene anywhere else would be a nightmare. Edit: I actually found the scene on YouTube. Thanks Wayfinder Project!